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								    ### GUIDE ### [3][Background] [4][Synopsis] [5][Credits] [6][Episode

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								   _Contents:_ [9]Overview - [10]Backplot - [11]Questions - [12]Analysis

								   - [13]Notes - [14]JMS


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Overview


								     As the Army of Light prepares to strike, Londo and Vir continue to

								     plot Cartagia's downfall. Ivanova and Lorien look for more First

								     Ones. The Shadows unleash a terrible new weapon. [15]Wortham

								     Krimmer as Emperor Cartagia.


								[16]P5 Rating: [17]8.82


								Production number: 405

								Original air week: January 27, 1997


								Written by J. Michael Straczynski

								Directed by John LaFia


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Plot Points


								     * The Shadows have deployed a planet-killer of their own, striking

								       against Vorlon-aligned worlds much as the Vorlons are decimating

								       worlds touched by the Shadows.

								     * After the success of his assassination plot, Londo has taken

								       Cartagia's place as head of the Centauri, though for the moment

								       only as prime minister, not as emperor.

								     * Making good on his promise to G'Kar in [18]"Whatever Happened to

								       Mr. Garibaldi?" Londo has ordered the withdrawal of Centauri

								       forces from Narn.


								Unanswered Questions


								     * Who were the Centuari nobles in the secret meeting with Londo and

								       Vir?


								Analysis


								     * Now that Narn is free, will G'Kar retain his stature? Or will most

								       of his countrymen come to feel the way the Narn in the palace did,

								       that G'Kar's sacrifice wasn't significant and doesn't give him any

								       special moral authority?

								       It's unlikely the Narn could mount any meaningful offensive

								       against the Centauri regardless of their antagonism, given the

								       near-total destruction of their fleet and the razing of their

								       planet. But G'Kar's warnings have a habit of being ignored until

								       it's too late ([19]"Revelations" and [20]"The Long, Twilight

								       Struggle," to name two instances) and given the justifiable rage

								       many Narn no doubt feel, they may well ignore him again.

								     * The Narn clearly don't know why the Centauri really left their

								       world. How will they react if and when they learn that it was a

								       bargain on G'Kar's part, not the stubborn resistance of the Narn

								       people as a whole, that caused their invaders to leave?

								     * In [21]"Falling Toward Apotheosis," Garibaldi speculated that in a

								       week's time, the crush of incoming refugees would overwhelm

								       Babylon 5's resources. That doesn't seem to have happened. Has the

								       diversion of people to the surface of Epsilon 3 gone smoothly

								       enough to take the load off the station?

								     * This episode marks the first time Sheridan has been shown ordering

								       someone to certain death, though perhaps it's something he had to

								       do during the Earth-Minbari War as well. His death and rebirth on

								       Z'ha'dum likely makes such orders more credible: he was willing to

								       die for the cause, so he's clearly not sending others into the

								       fire just to save his own skin. Delenn, on the other hand, might

								       not be ready for that aspect of command; as Lennier pointed out in

								       [22]"Grey 17 Is Missing," she holds individual lives in high

								       esteem and is reluctant to risk them even for a greater good.

								     * What did Londo mean when he told the other Centauri that when he

								       died, there would be a reckoning? He could have been referring to

								       his own alleged complicity in the death of Prime Minister Malachi,

								       or to a reckoning for Refa's actions. If the former, he was

								       probably thinking in particular of his rather ignoble death,

								       strangulation at the hands of G'Kar as foreseen in his dream

								       ([23]"The Coming of Shadows," [24]"War Without End, Part Two.")

								     * Although it was clearly unintentional (see [25]jms speaks) one of

								       Vir's earliest appearances has what could be considered

								       foreshadowing of his killing of Cartagia. In [26]"Born to the

								       Purple," Londo asks Vir, "What do you want, you moon-faced

								       assassin of joy?" Vir has turned out to be an assassin, and by

								       killing Cartagia, Vir has undone some of the damage that began

								       when Londo first answered Morden's question, "What do you want?"

								       in [27]"Signs and Portents."

								     * Another possible unintentional foreshadowing of Vir's actions was

								       the Minbari rebirth ceremony in [28]"The Parliament of Dreams."

								       During the ceremony, Delenn handed out fruits while she recited a

								       Minbari holy text. As she gave Londo his fruit, she spoke of

								       birth; Vir's, death and renewal. Obviously it wasn't JMS's intent

								       at the time, but Londo can be seen as bringing on the birth of the

								       newly ascendant Centauri Republic by helping Refa bring Cartagia

								       to power. Vir brings its death in the form of the assassination,

								       and its rebirth in the resulting shift in power.


								Notes


								     * The poem recited by Sheridan at the end of the episode was

								       probably left by Sinclair, who quoted it to Delenn as far back as

								       [29]"The Gathering." It is Tennyson's [30]"Ulysses."

								     * When Londo first saw G'Kar, G'Kar commented that his eye offended

								       Cartagia. That's no doubt a Biblical reference, to [31]Matthew

								       18:9.

								     * G'Kar's newfound vision bears some resemblance to Norse mythology,

								       in which the god Odin sacrificed one of his eyes in exchange for

								       the ability to perceive things beyond the normal senses.

								     * In the initial US broadcast, the third-season theme was played

								       over the closing credits.

								     * The Shadow weapon was devised by Harlan Ellison.

								     * Effects glitch: About a half-second before the executive producer

								       credit, as the fleet is leaving Babylon 5, some Starfuries enter

								       the picture on the right side. As they appear, they flicker out of

								       existence for a frame or two. The effect is visible (barely) at

								       normal speed, more obvious in slow motion.


								jms speaks


								     * _Was the use of the third season end theme deliberate?_

								       It was an error...but as with many errors on the show, it worked

								       to our benefit. It's the ABA principle....Art By Accident.

								     * I'm quite happy with this episode. It's fun.

								     * I'm writing 405, "The Long Night," and there's something that one

								       character was supposed to do in the script, that had been the plan

								       all along, that was my intent even as near as 1 page from where it

								       was going to happen...then just as I got to that scene, another

								       character stepped up and said, "no, let me do it." I was kinda

								       flummoxed. "You?! You're the LAST person anyone would think to do

								       this." The character nodded. "Exactly." And the symmetry was

								       perfect, the impact would be greater...so that's who did it.

								       On one level, it's always wonderful when this happens; on another,

								       it scares the hell out of me....

								       It's at the bottom of act two, you'll figure it out when you get

								       there.

								     * _Which character has surprised you the most?_

								       Probably Vir. He's surprised me on many levels. Suffice to say

								       that in the first 6 somewhere next season, there's something I'd

								       slotted for another character to do. I'd intended for that

								       character to do it right up.... until the page before that other

								       character was going to do it, when Vir stepped up in my brain and

								       said, "No, *I* should do this." And as soon as he said it, I knew

								       it was right. You'll see.

								     * It was gonna be Londo right up until 2 pages before the

								       scene...then Vir said, "Nope."

								     * Nothing about it was at all accidental...he had to go pick it up,

								       turn, move to Cartagia, stick it in, and then pull the trigger.

								       Nothing accidental about it. But if we'd shown him doing all the

								       prep, the shock wouldn't have been as substantial.

								     * "Has a character (not actor) ever suggested a direction to you

								       that you didn't take, but later on seemed like the direction you

								       should have taken? I would think they would all be fighting for

								       screen-time, or is that just some actors?"

								       Not really, mainly because if my subconscious mind is sufficiently

								       up in arms about something as to throw a fictional character at me

								       and yell at me, it's usually a sign that I should Shut The Hell Up

								       And Do As I'm Told. So when it happens, I *very* rarely ignore it.

								     * _What did Londo mean when he said there'd be a reckoning?_

								       Well, the reckoning in the next life for his actions in this one,

								       would be the best way of putting it. That's what he expects.

								     * _Was G'Kar's stock a visual reference to Jesus on the cross?_

								       I think one can make the argument there is some symbolism in there

								       from christian literature, but that kind of scene takes place in

								       other belief systems as well, and historically that sort of

								       torture was used in many places, including the Roman empire in

								       general.

								     * _Did Londo's men weaken the chains after all, or was G'Kar just

								       really determined?_

								       That was one determined Narn.

								     * The White Star mission in that ep has definite roots; during WW2

								       to convince the Germans we weren't going to land at Normandy, our

								       own agents were fed incorrect information, set loose...and then

								       info was leaked to the Germans allowing them to pick up the agents

								       and torture the information out of them. This wasn't quite as bad

								       as that, the crew at least knew what they were getting into...but

								       there are often no good choices in war.

								     * _The Ericsson scene was moving._

								       Thanks...I think a lot of it there has to do also with the

								       performance of the actor playing Ericsson. He brought a real sense

								       of presence to the job.

								     * He asked if Ericsson was married because, if he was, that was a

								       call that Sheridan would have to make, over Stellarcom or in

								       person, to notify her that her husband was dead. And, for

								       Sheridan, I suppose there was a tinge of relief, knowing that at

								       least he wouldn't be creating a widow as well as ordering Ericsson

								       to do what was necessary.

								     * _What was the meaning of the phrase Ericsson used when he signed

								       off?_

								       The Minbari phrase was the standard way for Rangers to end a

								       conversation, with a salute to the Entil-zha, the head of the

								       Rangers, which is Delenn in this case.

								     * _Why did the promo feature Ericsson when his was a pretty minor

								       part?_

								       Certainly I would never have made a big deal about the Ericsson

								       thing, because then it *does* set up certain expectations. I

								       didn't hear about the promo until you did.

								       There actually *was* a Lorien scene in that episode, but it got

								       slid a bit when we ran out of time in that ep.

								     * _Sheridan should have known Ericsson wasn't married._

								       First, the Rangers situation is not a typical military situation.

								       They are primarily from Minbar, both in terms of actual Minbari

								       and humans trained there. They are specifically under Delenn's

								       charge, with Sheridan *sharing* that authority. He did not know

								       Ericsson because they're a large bunch to whom he has not been

								       introduced, and likely they don't have very large records on them.

								       This is a *de facto* army, not a *de jure* (I hope I spelled that

								       right) army...there ain't a lot of paperwork on the Rangers.

								       Second, it was Delenn who sent for this particular White Star,

								       more for its strategic location...which Sheridan used because it

								       was closest to the goal. Your observation is like saying that

								       General Patton should know *instantly* about every soldier on the

								       line in battle, however distant he is. Which is simply absurd.

								       Watch some old WW2 footage someday...there's General MacArthur

								       walking among some troops..."What's your name, son? Where are you

								       from?" By your lights, he should have known that.

								       Third, re: the encryption notice...of *course* they're all

								       encrypted...what Sheridan said was "we're RE-encrypting this

								       message EVERY THREE SECONDS, so be sure to have your system keep

								       up." That's an escalation in layers of encryption so elaborate and

								       involved that it makes the system actually slow down.

								     * _More on Sheridan's sacrifice of the ship_

								       I think it also showed the League that he was willing to sacrifice

								       his own people, that he *means business*...and is prepared to go

								       all the way for this, and they'd damned well better be as well.


								   [37][Next]


								      [38]Last update: August 22, 1997


								References


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